Charles Saatchi and Nigella Lawson were dining in the outside area of Scott's seafood restaurant in Mayfair when the photographs were taken

He told London's Evening Standard: "Although Nigella made no complaint, I volunteered to go to Charing Cross station and take a police caution after a discussion with my lawyer because I thought it was better than the alternative of this hanging over all of us for months."

A spokesman for Nigella confirmed she left the family home, in a multimillion-pound converted factory, with her son on Sunday, but refused to say whether it was a temporary or permanent move.